Meld Effect
by Tyler Marcoz
Summary: After the destruction of Sovereign, Shepard spends his much deserved downtime reflecting upon his mission, his crew... and his relationship with the asari scientist, Liara. :: Chapter 2 Posted :: Liara:Shepard, Colonist:War Hero:Soldier:Paragon
1. Chapter 1

**_M_eld Effect**

A Mass Effect Story

_Introduction_

I got Mass Effect the day it came out. I didn't pre-order it, though I considered it. Though, as I think back, when I heard about Mass Effect, and I read about Mass Effect, and I learned about Mass Effect... I never was all THAT impressed. Sure, it looked beautiful, and it was made by BioWare. But I'd never actually much given a lot of thought to it. Halo was my all in all of gaming for the longest time, the series and universe capturing my fanboy glee. So despite the praise, Mass Effect never really captured me like, say, Halo 3 did. Of course, then I played it.

Needless to say, I've found something that has captured my attention in a way that nothing has for something like half a decade now. Something thats managed to drive me back into my roots. I wrote fan fiction, romance mainly, when I first started exploring the internet, and so to that beginning I have come back to. Hopefully my writing has improved since then.

To preface this somewhat, I'll be direct. This is a Shepard/Liara story, as can be expected for nearly all of my stories. I cannot claim canon, though in my 'personal canon' it will hold sway. I could argue that because Liara is the only character romanceable by both male and female characters, she has the strongest case for being a canon romance. But given the nature of the game, I think it's hard to rule that one specific character is the canon romance option. However, this variable nature also leads me to another point. Ash is dead, during this story time frame. It is not a personal thing against her, simply the fact that during my game I chose her to stay behind, reluctantly. As I liked her, she'll likely pop up in my stories from time to time. But unless otherwise noted, she was the one left behind.

_Disclaimer_

I do not, nor ever have, had any relationship with BioWare. I don't own any rights or hold any sort of license of any sort. This is intended only as a work of fan appreciation and an expression of enjoyment for the excellent game created by BioWare. So, please, don't sue me, bro!

_Chapter.One1_

Shepard roughly pulled off the last piece of his Scorpion VI hard suit, setting the protective plate of ablative ceramic into his locker with a silent prayer he'd be able to spend at least a few hours without re-donning the body armor he'd worn so often in the recent past that he almost missed it when he took it off. But not now, not in the least. Aboard the Normandy, a vessel he'd once had trouble seeing as 'his,' he was happy to exchange the millimeters of ceramic plating for the much thicker hide of starship armor that now surrounded him. As he stood, silently rejoicing as he closed his locker door, he took a moment to simply wait, to breath...

"Joker, status report." the commander asked, mind snapping back after his momentary relaxation. The response was fast, something Shepard was more then appreciative for. He made a mental note to put Joker, and the rest of his crew, up for both shore leave and more then a few accommodations.

"We're mostly fine, Commander. I brought her home intact and on curfew. We're just making a few minor repairs, checks, and painting kill markers on the nose. You know, important stuff." quipped the pilot, his trademarked humor making Shepard smile as it so often did. He wondered for a moment if he could give him a medal for that.

"I'm heading to my quarters, keep me posted."

His brain registered the response, but the commander was already moving. Shepard moved towards his quarters at a brisk pace. Part of him wanted never to run again, simply to take his time, no matter how long it would take to get there. Another part wanted to rush there, to sit down and rest. And all of him wanted time to think, to simply sit and spend time thinking... reflecting on what he'd just gone through. And, perhaps more importantly, reflect on the aftereffects of his melding with Liara. That experience was... enlightening, to say the least.

He took a seat on his bunk and waited seven long moments for something to happen. Nothing did. He let off a silent prayer of thanks and relaxed, letting himself slip away from everything, and just let thoughts come to him. Liara was foremost of these to surface, unsurprising given his recent experiences. In the council chambers, he'd almost thought he'd lost her. And that thought filled him with more power, more rage, and more concern then he'd ever felt in his life. But he'd used that, he'd fought 'Saren' and survived. But, more importantly to him, _she _had survived, and it was that thought that brought him more relief then even his own survival did.

He loved her. He loved her in ways he'd never loved anyone before, nor could love anyone before. In many ways, he knew his feelings stemmed from his experiences with his melding of minds. He knew her in ways he couldn't even comprehend knowing another person, experiencing something that, to put it bluntly, put other passions to shame. And yet, he knew also that he had loved her before, as well. The meld only strengthened the feelings he'd already held. But he found it impossible now to distinguish between now and then. Not that he put much effort into it, in retrospect. He'd no reason to. He felt what he felt, that was enough. He only hoped others could find something like this, some day. A feeling that made him want to shout his revelation on the corner like a proselytizing Hanar.

He stopped for a moment as his mind drifted to Ash. He missed her. Although he'd apologized for seemingly leading her on, in truth, part of him would have just has soon chosen the Gunnery Chief earlier on. He didn't love her, not like he felt about Liara. But he cared about her. She was strong, and smart. Any man would have been lucky to have her. But he didn't love her. He had cursed himself silently at being unable to save her. He cursed himself, wondering if he'd chosen too easily to leave her behind. He'd lost soldiers under his command before, and it never was easy. But losing Williams was unlike anyone he'd lost before. Except, perhaps, a select few. Losing her was like losing his family all over again. And perhaps, in many ways, thats what she was. She was family to him. Family like all of his crew.

Family... the thought brought him back once more to T'Soni. He wasn't exactly an expert on asari physiology (a fact the baser part of his brain hoped he would be rectifying soon), so his aforementioned melding experience made him curious as to if he'd end up taking on perhaps a great responsibility then saving the galaxy: parenthood. The thought brought along all sorts of curious questions and worries. So many worries. He shook the concern from his mind, remembering he two important facts. He was no expert on the asari, as was already covered, and moreso that the possibility itself made him... happy.

Happy. He'd found a strange amount of that on this... mission? Journey? Quest? All the names fit, he supposed. The fact he was contemplating such things at all made him smile it it's own way. He'd found Garrus, someone who'd challenged his own thinking and views on other species; he'd found Wrex, someone who had lost more then he had, more then his entire species had. Kaiden, Joker, Tali. And of course he'd found Liara, something that could make the galaxy worth saving all on its own.

Saved the galaxy was strong, perhaps. But he'd at least gave it a chance. Sometime told him the reapers wouldn't take the sudden upset of their millions of years cycle as a sign that their time was over. But he'd done a lot, and while being humble served him well, right now he'd no qualms about accepting the fact he'd done a lot for the galaxy, and humanity. He wouldn't ask for much. More support in discovering a way to stop the Reapers once and for all, perhaps. Before that, some time off was the only other thing on his list. But he knew he couldn't spend too much time lying down. Outside of the enigmatic threat, his very nature wouldn't allow him to sit idle.

Idle... he wondered how long he'd sat there.

"You seem tired. Is this a bad time, Shepard." said a voice for which the commander doubted there would ever be a bad time for.

"No, Liara..." Shepard said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and quickly closing the gap, right into waiting arms. "Right now is fantastic."

_End.One1_


	2. Chapter 2

**_M_eld Effect**

A Mass Effect Story

_Notes:_

Story wise, Shepard made a choice that he thought would save the most lives, and be for the best. Gameplay... I was simply using Kaiden more. Now, given I had planned a lot of ideas for this while playing, I did see the potential in using it, so it works out nicely.

_Chapter.Two2_

Shepard woke up with Liara in his arms, her smaller frame resting back into his honed arms as she slept. A smile crept across his face as he watched her. Serene... peaceful. She slept like she felt safe, and the commander understood why quite clearly. She slept so peacefully because she felt safe not now that Saren had found his end, or that Sovereign had been destroyed. She slept safe not because she was surrounded by the Citadel bastion, or because she was inside plates of thick starship armor. She felt safe in his arms. As the thoughts made him smile, he realized just how unique her species ability to meld minds was. And how wonderful.

He understood her in ways he could before only understand himself. He found himself weaving through the thoughts and feelings as he held her sleeping form, tracing them to their source, finding where their matching threads intertwined together. She felt safe in his arms because she understood he would do anything to protect her. He found himself driven to protect her because he understood she knew that he would. Or at least, that is how the two threads now linked, their origins lost into the tangled web of the mind.

She was still sleeping, he didn't bother to check the time.

Could he keep her safe? He had become very strong on this mission, a mission which had pushed him more then any mission had before, both physically and mentally. This mission had made him into a better person, he knew that much. But had it made him strong enough. Could he protect her, truly? She trusted him too, and when he thought about it, he found that he trusted her to to keep him safe, in a way. She was strong too, he knew that. He wondered if she wasn't stronger then him in some ways... perhaps even in many ways.

He had saved her when he had found her, a regular case of the damsel in distress. He found it somewhat amusing that this was how he'd met all three of his female companions. He also found it perhaps somewhat ironic that of the three, Liara was the only one he had truly saved. Tali he'd moreso helped. She could hold her own, and Williams could do so even better. Yet he'd saved her twice in the same day, on the same mission.

Liara, however, he'd truly rescued. There was irony in that she was perhaps the strongest of them all. Still, he'd saved her still, and the recent melding had left a very clear impression of how that made her feel. That thought made him think that maybe he couldn't always keep her safe, but at the least he would always be there to save her. Would that be enough?

But could he? There were always some doubts. Rarely vocalized, but always present. Despite the front he put on for his crew he had many doubts. He'd long learned that part of being a commander was to be the rock the others looked up to. He didn't have the luxury of public doubt. But that only made the private ones stronger. For each success, there was a bloody mark of failure. He doubted himself, he doubted his species. He hadn't been able to save Jenkins on Eden Prime. He hadn't been able to save his family on Mindoir. And for all his efforts, he hadn't been able to save Saren. But perhaps most of all...

He couldn't save Ashley. He didn't try hard enough... maybe he didn't even try at all. Had he really cared for her? Or perhaps he did, and he was simply eliminating the conflict in his mind. Or maybe, just maybe, he just didn't try hard enough. He'd been weak, and she had paid for it with her life.

He shook the thoughts from his head, then frowned as he realized the azure form in his arms begin to stir. But when her eyes opened, seeming to almost glow as her gaze locked onto his and her face lit up, he could only smile back at her.

"Morning, sunshine. Sorry to wake you." he said softly, placing a small kiss onto her forehead. She blushed in her own way, something that made her even more beautiful in a way.

"That is alright, Shepard. To wake up like this is... wonderful." she said, eyes fluttering closed as she nuzzled into his bare chest. He held her close.

"You're wonderful, Liara." he replied in a near whisper, her silent response of joy and mild embarrassment flashing through her as she blushed.. The blue-skinned asari curled into him more and sighed happily. He waited only a few moments before speaking again. "I don't want to move, I just want to stay her. Right here... with you."

She said nothing, her actions speaking louder then words as she pulled him into a deep kiss. He held the embrace, letting his doubts flow away in his lovers arms. At that moment, each one disappeared in it's entirety. He would keep her safe, she could keep him safe. It occurred to the commander that the meld had effected more then just him. She knew his doubts; she knew him in ways she only she could. And that fact made him feel a way he'd not felt since the first time they had melded.

And in her arms, he felt safer then he ever had in his entire life.

_End.Two2_


End file.
